Issue and Opponent: The issue at hand was the continued control of Ukraine by the Ukrainian SSR, part of the Soviet Union. The student union was unhappy with the election results that gave the Communist Party 331 seats and the Democratic Bloc only 11. Students believed the election results were falsified.
Dilemma Action: Students demonstrated in Kyiv, calling for the resignation of the Prime Minister and the implementation of a multi-party system. It also called for the end of the Union Treaty with the Soviet Union and the demand that military service be restricted to Ukraine. Students erected tents in Maidan Nzaleznosti (Independence Square) and began a hunger strike on October 2, 1990. Initially, there were 2,000 strikers and between 150-200 hunger strikers. On the 15th, 50,000 students demonstrated and announced the demands on television. Students seized the University building and continued to march to other schools and factories in Kyiv. The students were joined by workers of the Arsenal factory, who were famous for their work leading the Marxist-Bolshevik Revolution.
Outcomes: After two weeks, on October 17, the government agreed to restrict military services to Ukraine and to get rid of the Union-State Treaty with the Soviets. Eventually, months later, the Prime Minister resigned and multi-party elections were allowed. This was part of a larger campaign for an independent and democratic Ukraine.